Blood and Honour
by ReillyJade
Summary: She may have been the obedient daughter, but even Narcissa had to break the rules sometimes. She took a big chance for love, and the result is a secret she'll harbor deep in her heart forever. No one would ever need to know.


_DISCLAIMER:_ All of the places and characters in this story belong to the genius Ms. J.K. Rowling. No profit is being made from this story. It only serves to (hopefully) entertain_._

Rated M for language and sexual situations (though nothing _too_ graphic.)

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**Blood and Honor**

It had been going on for long enough, and Narcissa decided that no matter how much it pained her to do so, she had to stop it.

She turned her gaze from the ceiling to the rugged, dark-haired man laying beside her, and she allowed a sad smile appear on her lips when his grey eyes met her own. Narcissa's heart burst with affection for him, and it drove her insane with sadness that their love was so forbidden, so impossible. Why hadn't her parents select _him_ to be her husband? Why did it have to be Lucius?

She decided she really couldn't complain too much, as Lucius was actually a wonderful husband. Yes, he was arrogant and usually dreadful to anyone who crossed his path, but to her, he had been surprisingly loving and chivalrous since they were married. He really did love her, and in a way, Narcissa had grown to love him, but it wasn't a passionate love like she felt for the man laying beside her. Her love for Lucius was friendly and convenient, but for Rodolphus, it was like fire.

It was the ultimate scandal, and Narcissa could hardly believe that her obedient, typically virtuous self had gotten involved in it. For three years, she had been sneaking away to her brother-in-law's bed a few nights each week. She simply couldn't help herself, though. She and Rodolphus fell for each other while they were at Hogwarts, regardless of the fact that he was to marry her sister. They fought it for as long as they could, sharing nothing but glances and small talk at family functions and their own respective weddings, until they simply gave in. She wasn't worried about hurting Bella, as she never loved Rodolphus, anyway, but she didn't know what she'd do if they were discovered by Lucius and her parents. She'd be disowned for her disobedience, and she simply couldn't let that happen.

"We can't keep doing this, Rodolphus," Narcissa said, tears threatening to fall. "This has to stop."

"Why?" he asked. "It's not like Bella would ever care. She only loves Him. She always has. She wouldn't give a damn if I left her."

"I know she wouldn't, but my parents would."

"All they wanted was for you to have a Pureblood for a husband. That can be me."

"That's not the point. They put me with Lucius for a reason."

"Then let's take off. To hell with them."

"No," Narcissa said. She shook her head, gently grazing her fingertips against the black tattoo that would be forever branded into his forearm. "They'd catch us."

"Then we'll stay," he said, running his fingers through her blonde hair. "We'll never be married, but at least we can be together."

"No," she said once more, flinching away from him. He wasn't making this easy for her. "I can't keep doing this to Lucius."

"To _Lucius?"_ he exclaimed. "Since when have you ever cared about what he wants?"

"He's my husband, Rod-"

"And Bellatrix is my wife! You don't see me bitching about it."

"That's different! You don't love Bellatrix!"

Rodolphus looked taken aback, and slightly hurt, for a moment. When he spoke again, it was barely more than a whisper.

"Are you telling me you love Lucius? What happened to loving me?"

"I do love you, Rodolphus! That's what's making this so hard!"

"What's so hard, Cissy? If you love me, stay with me!"

"It's not that simple!"

"Oh, is it not?"

Before Narcissa could respond, Rodolphus captured her lips with his in a deep, searing kiss that sent bolts of electricity straight to her core. They were both already naked from their lovemaking earlier, and the only barrier separating them was a blanket which Rodolphus roughly tore away as he climbed on top of her. She completely forgot about Lucius when a familiar hardness began to push into her thigh. He was a strong man, and his weight pushed her small frame into the mattress, but she loved it. She completely melted beneath him as his lips left hers and began doing wondrous things to her sensitive neck. She dragged her nails along his back, and he groaned in pleasure.

"Admit it, Cissy," Rodolphus growled as he continued to kiss her neck. He brought his hand down to her core, and she cried out as his skilled fingers worked their magic. "He's never going to make you feel the way_ I_ do. You're _never_ going to love him the way you love me."

Narcissa knew it was true and she wanted to cry, but those thoughts left her once more when Rodolphus plunged into her, filling her completely and eliciting a scream of pleasure from her kiss-swollen lips. Rodolphus groaned as he thrust hard and deep at a perfect rhythm, making sure to do so at the angle he knew Narcissa liked best. He wanted to make sure she knew just how good he made her feel every time they were together. Narcissa knew he was still hurt and angry and that she shouldn't have given in so easily, but for those few minutes, she abandoned all rational thought. When she reached her end and cried out in ecstasy, he lost control of himself and his thrusts became erratic until he, too, felt the waves of bliss crash over him. He kissed her once more before rolling off of her, and they laid there breathing heavily for a couple of minutes before he spoke again.

"It's perfectly simple, Cissy," he said with hurt in his voice, refuting what she'd said just minutes prior. "You'll always do what you're told, always honor the orders you're given, even if that means being with Lucius instead of me."

A lump grew in her throat because she knew it was true, but she said nothing. She wished she could be braver, like Andromeda had been. The only difference with her sister was that she didn't care about disappointing their parents. Narcissa did. She didn't want to lose the wealth and the status. She wanted the respect and honor.

"And I understand that," Rodolphus continued. "Really, I do. We got dealt a shitty hand."

"I wish it had been you," Narcissa whispered, a tear slipping from her eye. She desperately wished love could have been taken into consideration when her parents made their choices, but how could it have when they themselves didn't even love each other? Their marriage, too, had been arranged, and the sole purpose of arranged marriages was to keep wealth in the families and, if they were lucky, to create more Pureblood children. Love had never mattered and never would.

"I really do love you, Rodolphus."

"And I love you. Always will."

They shared one last kiss before Narcissa got dressed and left her lover's room for the last time. If she had lingered any longer, she would have changed her mind, and she knew she couldn't allow herself to do that. She didn't tell Rodolphus that the real reason she was calling things off between them was because Lucius wanted to try to have a child, and as Rodolphus had pointed out to her minutes before, she was obedient. Narcissa couldn't risk becoming pregnant by another man; she may not have loved Lucius with the same fire and passion she loved Rodolphus with, but even he didn't deserve that.

Narcissa and Rodolphus met again for the first time nearly two years later. They had avoided each other since their last night together, as it was too painful to be around one another. But this meeting couldn't be avoided. The yard of Malfoy Manor was crowded with guests for Draco's first birthday party, and Narcissa looked on with delight from across the lawn as her son laughed in Lucius's arms. Her happiness was interrupted, however, when Rodolphus suddenly stood beside her, looking at the happy birthday boy.

"Lovely party, Cissy."

She looked at him and offered a cordial smile. "Thank you."

"Just tell me," he said, his grey eyes burning into her and not wasting any time, "is he mine?"

Narcissa knew he was going to ask. It did seem all too miraculous that she became pregnant immediately after she and Lucius began trying for a baby. Not to mention, the only trait Draco shared with Lucius was blonde hair, which Narcissa also possessed. Everything else about Draco – his eyes, his nose, his smile – was all hers. All Draco's appearance proved was that he was Narcissa's son; nothing about him tied him to either Lucius or Rodolphus. The only way to know for certain was to perform a complicated spell of some sort, and Narcissa wasn't about to risk that and unravel everything.

"I don't know," she answered honestly.

He nodded, instantly understanding why he, too, would never truly know if he was a father. "Okay."

"Rodolphus, we have to go!" Bella called from across the lawn, motioning for her husband to join her. He glanced at Narcissa one last time.

"It was good to see you, Cissy."

She stood rooted on the spot as he walked away to join his wife. It had been a long time since she thought about the very real chance that her son was his, but as she always did, she forced it out of her mind. It hurt too much simply not being with Rodolphus; she didn't want to think of her beautiful little boy as being part of him. That would be even worse.

There was no need to find out. Regardless of whether Draco was the son of Lucius or Rodolphus, he was a Pureblood, and in the end, that was all that mattered. Love didn't matter. It never did. Narcissa had honored her parents' arrangement, and she had succeeded in doing what it was intended for.

No one needed to know the rest.

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**Author's Note:** Okay, this was my first ever attempt at writing characters from this generation, as well as my first time writing anyone from the Dark Side. So if it was complete trash, I wholeheartedly apologize to the fans of this particular era.

This was written for the lovely Gamma Orionis as part of the Secret Santa Competition over on the HPFC forum. Happy Holidays, Gamma! I hope I didn't completely destroy your pairing! XD


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